One Autumn Night
by jedimasterstar
Summary: Methos was just taking a walk when he meets a young woman in need of help. But the girl may be in need of more help than even he can provide.


**This is my first ever _Highlander_ fanfic. Please be nice! I mostly got the inspiration for this one-shot on certain things going on in my life right now. I just wanted to put it into words to see if anything makes sense to me. And yes, there may be some implied things in here that you may recognized, but I want to assure all that I'm drawing from other people's pain besides my own. The OC is a collection of my problems plus other people's problems.**

**Disclaimer:** _Highlander_ belongs to their creators. I'm only borrowing Methos for one fic. And I don't if there is a town called Blackbriar Falls in Vermont; but if there is, I don't own it either.

**Summary:** Methos went for a quiet walk when he meets a young woman in need of help. But the girl may be in need of more help than even he can provide.

**A/N:** Methos may be a little OOC. Let me know if he is!

**A/N2:** This has not been betaed!!! Just wanted to warn you!

**One Autumn Night**

It was a cold autumn's night when Methos decided to take a walk. He heard that Blackbriar Falls was a small town in Vermont that was beautiful when autumn came around; so he came up to see it for himself. And so far, they have been proven correct. And for once, he was actually enjoying himself. Duncan is visiting Connor in New York; Richie is somewhere in Asia; Amanda was off on another heist; and Joe was attending some sort of Watcher conference. Which left the ancient Immortal free to do whatever he wanted and not have to worry about anyone's problems.

But is so happened that as he was walking along a path that led by a small bubbling creek, he came upon a young woman deep in thought. Or he thought she looked like she was deep in thought. He really could not tell. She looked more depress than anything else. Hoping not to scare her, he walked up next to her and asked, "Is everything alright?"

The woman did not even flinch. "Depends on your definition of 'alright'," she answered.

Methos took the opportunity to study her more closely. She came to about his shoulders in height, with shoulder-length brown hair that hung about her face in an unkempt manner. He could also tell that she has not sleep in a while. "How do you define it?" he asked.

"Someone who has everything in front of them without a problem in the world," she answered dreamily. "No care in the world. No worries."

"And you?"

"Everything is against me," she whispered, never once turning to him. "It seems that everyone thinks I don't exist. Or they treat me like a mere idiot who for some reason shares the same breath as them."

He smiled. "I use to think that way," he said.

She finally turned to look at him; and Methos could finally see how deeply in pain she was when he finally looked into her dark brown eyes. "How so?" she asked.

That was when he took a minute to think. How in the world is he going to tell this to her without telling her about Immortality? Taking a deep breath, he said, "I always hated the fact that I was ignored. That no one recognized me. But after a while, I began to like the fact that I was invisible. I _wanted_ them to think of me as an idiot. It allowed me to hide away from things that I did not want to be a part of." He then turned back to her and added, "But I think your problem is deeper than that. What do your friends say?"

She snorted. "What friends?" she asked. "My only friends with moved away or began to completely become a recluse. And everyone else just pretty much ignores me, even if I say 'Happy Birthday' or 'Good Luck'. The only good 'friendships' I have is the acquaintances that I made at work or on the Internet. Or you," she added with a touch of a smile on her face.

He smiled at her. "I'm honored," he said. But for the first time in a long while, his heart ached for her pain. "But what about your parents?" he asked.

"What parent would want to know that their child feels completely worthless and unloved?" she countered. "I've had so many thoughts pass through my mind that sometimes I just want it to end. What person wants to feel unloved?" she asked.

Methos sighed. This was deeper than he thought. He thought back to an old friend of his that went through the same thing this young woman was going through. But nothing Methos could do helped – he committed suicide later on. He did not want this to happen to her. "Have you ever stop to think that maybe you _are _loved, but you just didn't realize it?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"People can show their love in the most unusual kinds of ways. I once met a woman who I just kept overlooking. She was just a household employee. But it turned out that she was trying to show me that she loved me by listening, cleaning my care – odd sorts of things. I only realized what was happening when it was too late. She was already gone," replied Methos.

She stared at him. "But that sounds like a romantic kind of love. How does that apply to me?" she asked.

"The people around you can show their love for you by just _being _there when you need it most," he answered. "Has anybody done that for you recently?"

"Not to my knowledge. But like you said, I could've not been paying attention," she answered. "I don't know. What am I going to do?" she wondered.

In response, Methos pulled out a card and handed it to her. "If you ever want anyone to talk to, give me a call. I always answer my cell and am always willing to listen," he replied as she took the card.

"Doctor Andrew Hartfield," she read. She looked back up at him and smiled – truly smiled. "Thanks for listening, Doctor Hartfield," she said. "You're the first person I have met that really cared."

He smiled. "I never got your name," he said.

"Mara Everson. Good night," she replied as she turned and walked off into the night. Methos smiled after her. Something told him that he may be hearing from her soon.


End file.
